Off the Shelf
A forgotten Punjab hero
V.N. Datta

Dr Satyapal: The Hero of Freedom Movement in the Punjab
by Shailja Goyal. PBG Publications, Ludhiana. Pages 271.

HISTORY is nothing but the biography of men and women. However, this should not mean that biography is the story of kings and queens and of their adventures and romances. It has a wider dimension. Lytton Strachey was the first biographer who gave a new direction to the writing of biography by highlighting negative features of his portraits that he drew with ardour and flashing wit. He looked at both sides of the coin.

It is regrettable, indeed, that the biographies of some of the Punjab political leaders who played a vital role in our freedom struggle are few. Though the political activities of Lala Lajpat Rai and Saif-ud-Din Kitchlew (see his writings edited by his son, Taufiq Kitchlew) have been widely covered, Lala Harkishan Lal, Rambhaj Datta, Master Tara Singh, Sohan Singh Josh and Abdul Ghani Dar still await the historian. It is highly creditable that a senior lecturer of the History Department of Lala Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, Shailja Goyal, has brought out a biography of one of the most prominent political leaders hitherto forgotten. While facing enormous difficulties, he fought with passionate fervour for the emancipation of his country from the fetters of the British rule.

This work is an expanded version of a Ph.D. thesis submitted to Punjab University, Patiala. It opens with a synoptic introduction, covering the period from the end of the 19th century to the First World War, and analyses the social, economic and political conditions in Punjab, culminating in the anti-Rowlatt agitation, which the British took as a major challenge to their authority. In the second chapter, the author traces the various social and intellectual influences that had shaped Dr Satyapal’s political outlook, especially the Arya Samaj and Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of independence of the country.

There was nothing narrow or sectarian in his outlook — he valued greatly the freedom of thought and conscience, and integrity of character.

After obtaining an MBBS degree from King Medical College, Lahore, Dr Satyapal set up his clinic in Amritsar. He started his practice as a surgeon, but his heart lay elsewhere. When the occasion came, he rose to it, sacrificing his career and plunging into the whirlwind of anti-Rowlatt agitation. There was no turning back. Satyapal and Kitchlew became the "darlings" of the people of Amritsar, and their arrest on April 10, 1919, by the nervous, panicky Deputy Commissioner, Henry Irving, brought tears to many eyes and saddened many hearts. Their arrest kindled widespread political agitation in the province.

According to the author, Satyapal took his arrest lightly and never lost his sense of humour

which is evident in his letter addressed to his father (p. 69). While covering the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the author accepts the death toll figure of 1,000 cited by Madan Mohan Malaviya. I think this figure is exaggerated. A recent research has shown that the number of victims did not exceed 750. Shailja Goyal rightly writes that due to the anti-Rowlatt Act agitation, "Amritsar became a pilgrimage for the nationalists." Satyapal and Kitchlew were released from jail on the eve of the Congress session in Jallianwala Bagh on December 26, 1919, where they were welcomed with thunderous applause by the delegates and audience.

The author maintains that there was hardly a political activity connected with the freedom movement in which Satyapal did not enthusiastically participate. For instance, he participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement, the agitation against the Simon Commission and Civil Disobedience Movement, and suffered bravely the brunt of government oppression and imprisonment. While he languished in jail, his family suffered greatly due to financial strains. This work brings Satyapal’s participation in the Congress mass movement from 1919-38. Due to his differences with the Congress leadership, he ultimately resigned from the party, much to his chagrin, on July 12, 1941, and applied for the membership of the Indian Medical Service to help the Red Cross during the First World War. He rejoined the Congress in 1953. He was also Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha.

Shailja Goyal takes up two significant issues, which are generally neglected by scholars.

First, the author discusses the Muslim participation in nationalist movement. Second, she engages with the theme of Muslim separatism from the mainstream of Indian nationalism. Offering cogent reasons for the rise of the communal temperature in Punjab, she raises the question as to why the nationalist movement in Punjab did not reflect the vitality and strength as compared with other provinces. I think the brilliant leadership provided by Fazli Husain and Chhotu Ram, to a large extent, stemmed the rising tide of nationalism.

This is one of the few works in which an attempt has been made to show how factionalism within the Congress ranks in Punjab weakened the forces of nationalism and the possibility of a united front against the British government. Was this factionalism a product of clash of personalities or ideological one? How a first-rank Punjabi political leader like Satyapal was forced to quit the Congress? Satyapal attributed his departure from the Congress primarily to Mahatma Gandhi’s "dictatorial" attitude in the working of the party. Subash Chandra Bose and Aurobindo Ghosh too nurtured similar grievances.

Based on extensive source material, the biography provides the portrait of a secular patriot. It also reconstructs the times and forces that shaped his life history. Shailja Goyal’s book is a significant contribution to our understanding of one of the most crucial periods of Punjab’s nationalist upsurge. She brings to light the story of a neglected Punjabi nationalist who played an outstanding role in India’s struggle for freedom.

HOME